– Zoyeb Mohammed Zia
A very powerful and oft-overlooked hadith, according to the author of this article (And Allah knows best) is the hadith about spending on your family.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “When a Muslim spends something on his family intending to receive Allah’s reward it is regarded as Sadaqah for him.” (Bukhari 5351)
Arguably, spending on one’s own family is a duty of every individual, and rightly so, as per a hadith – Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be to him, said, “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects. A man is the guardian of his family and he is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and his children and she is responsible for them. The servant of a man is a guardian of the property of his master and he is responsible for it. No doubt, every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.” (Bukhari 7138, Muslim 1829)
But this duty should not be performed only because it is a duty rather it should be performed with the intention of gaining Allah’s pleasure and expecting reward, unlike expecting reward from humans on to whom you do a favour, expecting reward from Allah for a favour done to a human is recommended in the Quran itself.
Saying to themselves, “We feed you only for the sake of Allah, seeking neither reward nor thanks from you.” (Quran 76:9)
With the above Quranic verse, it is clear that one should not seek any reward whatsoever, even it be the satisfaction of performing a worldly duty from anyone except Allah.
We are commanded to be good to (take care of) our parents: “Say: ‘Come, I will rehearse what Allah hath (really) prohibited you from’: Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want – We provide sustenance for you and for them – come not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom.” (Quran 6:151)
And even though it is a command (fardh) and every fardh has its reward, we are told to seek reward for it. As per the hadith – Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be to him, said, “Verily, deeds are only with intentions, and every person will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated to Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever emigrated to get something in the world or to marry a woman, his emigration is for that to which he emigrated.” (Bukhari 54, Muslim 1907)
With the above hadith, it can be argued (And Allah knows best) that even when you take care of your parents, you have to do it with the intention of receiving a reward from Allah and the reward you can expect according to Sahih al-Bukhari 5351 (mentioned above) is that of Sadaqah.
And the reward for Sadaqah is the answer to the trouble this community is facing, as mentioned in a hadith Ka’b bin Ujrah narrated: “The Messenger of Allah said to me: Sadaqah (charity) extinguishes sins just as water extinguishes fire.” (Tirmidhi 614)
Another very big benefit of Sadqah (although it is a weak narration):
Ali reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Give the Sadaqah without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity.” (Mishkat al-Masabih 1887)
We know from the Quran that one of the consequences of committing sin is affliction:
“Whatever affliction befalls you is because of what your own hands have committed – and He pardons much.” (Quran, 42: 30)
Yet another warning in the Quran about the consequence of sin:
“Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what people’s hands have done, so that Allah may cause them to taste [the consequences of some of their deeds and perhaps they might return [to the Right Path].” (Quran, 30:41)
In summary, referencing the Quran and hadith, we come to know that –
- Spending on your family is rewarded as charity and we are supposed to seek this reward and intend it.
- Charity removes sins, which are the cause of affliction and corruption.
- Applying little innate logic, it can be understood that charity would reduce afflictions and corruption (And Allah knows best).
- In the author’s opinion spending on one’s own family (which most us already do) with the intention of reward of Sadaqah from Allah (which many of us may not – since most of us would not consider this spending a Sadaqah), could be that on simple task that could help reduce the calamities we are facing (And Allah knows best).
